Jane Hutt, Minister for Finance and Leader of the House
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
In June this year, I announced that I would once again provide Invest-to-Save funding to support new public sector improvement proposals. Investing in such proposals has demonstrated that there are different, more cost-effective approaches that can be adopted, without having to compromise on the quality of our public services.
I am today pleased to announce that I have now opened the fund to new project proposals and £15million is available for investment in projects that seek funding in 2013-14. I strongly encourage public service providers to now bring forward their improvement proposals for discussion.
The Invest-to-Save Fund supports organisations involved in public service delivery, to make the transition to more efficient, more effective and more sustainable forms of service delivery helping them to meet the challenges of a difficult settlement. I am continuing to direct funding to mostly collaborative projects between organisations, both within and between sectors that further our public service efficiency and improvement agenda. By joining-up we can ensure that everyone has access to efficient, high-quality services while at the same time using limited public funding in the most effective way.
In looking forward, I aim to announce annual Invest-to-Save funding opportunities and to do this at a consistent time of year. Therefore the funding round for 2014-15 will be opened to new bids on 5 November 2013. I will also consider the scope to open the Fund between annual rounds, if non-committed funding is available.